WIP Wednesday: The Auction Quilt

Posted in Quilting, Work in Progress by

Auction rail fence quilt work in progress

Today’s work in progress quilt is one I’ve been calling the “Auction Quilt.” (Any suggestions for a better name? Seriously, I need to name it something for the auction program … )

Every year in October, on the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch, my church does a dinner dance and live auction fundraiser to raise money for its ministries. This year, perhaps for the first time, they will be auctioning a quilt. A quilt that I’m donating. Eek. It’s a bit of a gamble since we’ve never tried to auction one before, and I’m sure we’ll get a fraction of its worth. I guess that’s always the dilemma when quilting for a cause. Still, part of me hopes to raise lots of money just to prove it can be done!

work in progress auction rail fence block quilt on bed

When I chose the pattern, I tried to think back to quick, easy quilts that my coworkers and I had done recently. We had just made the Gator’s Club quilt from the book Quilts from Textured Solids by Kim Schaefer for a sick coworker. It’s an adaptation of a rail fence block quilt, which got me to thinking how I could adapt the rail fence block too. I checked out Google and Pinterest, then I got out some graph paper and went to town, making the whole thing overly complicated. Alternate and inverted directions, color gradations, sections where I tried to make cross shapes (since it’s for a church) … when I got to the point where I couldn’t piece the rows without slavishly following my diagram, I knew I was golden.

block layout diagram for rail fence auction quilt

The auction coordinator and I decided to stick to blue, green, and white because those are colors that people don’t have strong opinions on. Orange, purple, and pink tend to be “love it or hate it.” I added a “no flowers” caveat  (that I later broke.) Basically, we wanted the widest audience. Of course, later a friend told me, “If you don’t have strong opinions about blue and green, that means you don’t love them either.” Another friend said the quilt looked like something a grandma would love and a grandpa wouldn’t object too (thanks, I think?).

Lots of dilemmas when you’re trying to maximize donations, really.

I’m actually pretty far on this one considering it isn’t due until October: the quilt top is now done, the pieced back has the jelly roll race section finished, and the binding is cut. Hallelujah!

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced Modern Quilts and Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story. If you do have name suggestions, I’d love to hear them in the comments! Thanks!

WIP Wednesday: Aleita Shell knit sweater

Posted in Knitting, Work in Progress by

Aleita Shell knit sweater in progress

I realized that I’ve yet to have a knitting-related post (it is Penny’s Purls, after all). So, here’s the latest project on my knitting needles: the Aleita Shell (pattern by Bonne Marie Burns). The yarn is Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport in Rockwell. I got the pattern from a back issue of Interweave Knits magazine–luckily it’s still available on Ravelry.

Rockwell color swatch, Lorna's Laces

Detail of Rockwell color (Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport yarn)

I must confess I have a phobia about knitting clothes. Three years ago, I tried to crochet a tunic and I screwed up so badly I had to cut the bodice off . (Trust me when I say, if a pattern says swatch, you swatch.) I have not attempted clothes since.

It was time for attempt #2. I chose the Aleita Shell because it was cute but not intimidating.

As for the yarn , you can’t go wrong with Lorna’s Laces. I also love Jimmy Beans Wool, which is why I had so many rewards points to use on skeins of the Shepherd Sport. So far the sweater is turning out pretty nice, but I haven’t gotten to the hard part yet …  and I’ve come too far to have it become another  tunic-turned-unfinished project!

If I’m lucky, I’ll have the thing done by fall, right when the leaves start matching the colors in the Rockwell yarn. That’s a happy thought.

Linking up to Work in Progress Wednesdays at Tami’s Amis.

Penny photobombed me. Apparently I took the best sunny spot on the bed.

Penny attempted to photo-bomb me. Apparently I took the best sunny spot on the bed.

Dogs and Quilting …

Posted in Dog stuff, Quilting by

… don’t mix.

dogs in unfinished quilt blocks

I think the lesson here is that if you’re cooking dinner for your mom, and you’re puppy sitting, and it sounds like all the critters are getting along … then you should immediately run to put away the quilt blocks you left out on the living room floor.

dogs in unfinished quilt blocks

Because they’ll be all up in your business.

dog playing in quilt blocks

Lucky me, I already took a photo of the layout for the WIP Wednesday post before the puppy tornado blew through. Now I just get to painstakingly reassemble the blocks. The dogs look like they had fun at least.

Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

Finish It Up Friday: Hexagon Flower Pincushion

Posted in Quilting by

hexagon flower pincushion

Happy Friday! It’s a Finish It Up Friday for me, and I wanted to share my finished Hexagon Pincushion. A small project really, but, hey, finished is finished!

Several months ago, one of my quilter friends went to Quilt Market and brought me back a small pack of English Paper Piecing shapes from Paper Pieces. She warned me they were addicting, but I took that as a challenge. I’ve now got hexies coming out my ears and more on the way!

paper-pieced hexagons

Sneaking in some hexagon piecing time at work …

I made the little purple flower out of scraps leftover from my very first quilt (which is still unfinished itself, but that’s a project for another Friday). I didn’t have a project to use it on though,  so the hexagon flower got shoved in a drawer.

A few days ago, I pulled it back out. I needed a new pincushion and none of my other UFOs (unfinished objects) were close to the right size.  I had no pattern, mind you, and worked on it exclusively while watching superhero action TV shows with lots of distracting explosions. Which might explain why it’s lopsided. I like it anyway. It’s purple, which for me is an instant “What’s not to love?”

I also learned a valuable lesson from this pincushion: Don’t sew distracted. You end up with things like this:

distracted sewing mistake

This was supposed to be a circle.

Linking this up to Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts. Have a great weekend, everyone! Thanks for stopping by.

WIP Wednesday: Fresh from the book Simply Retro

Posted in Quilting, Work in Progress by

Scrappy version of Fresh from Simply Retro book by Camille Roskelley

It’s my first Work-in-Progress Wednesday. Hooray!  It feels good to almost be done with this quilt top (it feels good to almost be done with any quilt top). Unfortunately, I can’t talk a whole lot about this quilt yet as it’s a gift for someone who might read this blog (and no, it’s not Mom … although I wish I had a quilt ready for her in time for Mother’s Day). The pattern is Fresh from Simply Retro by Camille Roskelley, but my version looks a little different since I went scrappy on it.

I love that book to bits.

That being said, I hate, hate, hate 2 foot blocks. Ugh. Fresh is the first time I’ve ever dealt with blocks that big. It takes forever to finish one!  At first it seemed great because the rows would go together fast, but I quickly learned I need those little I-finished-one-block-only-eight-to-go milestones along the way. I never realized how I took those for granted.

Of course, considering it looked like this at the beginning of last weekend, I really can’t complain about my progress.

Fresh quilt blocks in progress

This bed is my favorite design wall …

Only 7 more of those little half-square triangle units left!

Linking up to WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced Modern Quilts. (So excited to finally participate in one!)

Walkin’ at Animals on Broadway animal rescue fundraiser

Posted in Announcements, Dog stuff by

I just registered for their annual Animals on Broadway fundraiser. Penny and I will be walking at Heather Farm Park in Concord, CA on May 18. For those of you who don’t know about Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF), they do great work saving dogs and cats from local high-kill shelters, and also feature a lot of human programs, such as donating pet food to low-income families with pets, pet therapy dogs, Camp ARF for kids to teach them how to interact with animals, low cost vet care, and a sweet program in conjunction with the local library where kids develop reading skills by reading aloud to trained dogs. If you’d like to donate, you can find my page here.

I hope to meet lots of awesome dog owners there, but I’m also hoping to bring in some donations. I put $50 as my goal, but I’m secretly hoping to bring in $100 and get a donor T-shirt. What can I say, I’m competitive. I appreciate any amount, no matter how small, as well as kind thoughts and comments too (those are freely given and gladly received!).

UPDATE: On 5/9/14, Purple Heart (renamed Violet) was adopted! Hooray! Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about this sweet little dog.

A week and a half ago, I met the sweetest cocker spaniel at Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF). Her name is Purple Heart (horrible name, I know, but they use theme naming for each intake group  and she apparently drew the short straw).

Don't let the cone fool you ... she's good at finding a way into your lap!

Don’t let the cone fool you … she’s good at finding a way into your lap!

Poor Purple Heart came in with a lot of medical issues (cherry eye, spay complications,  torn ear, chronic ear infection — basically, “cocker stuff”). Thankfully she’s at ARF, which is blessed to have its own onsite vet. The volunteer I spoke to even said that their vet would cover a second cherry eye surgery if it “popped out again.” Again, standard cocker stuff. It’s not that gross really.

She needs a good home. She’s been there almost a month and a half now, and each week she’s getting passed up. People are probably nervous about her  health issues (which, granted, is a valid concern for anyone adopting a pet). It’s just sad because she’s such a doll–wiggly and cuddly, happy to see the other dogs on leash in the training yard … if I could take another dog, I’d snatch her up in a heartbeat.

 

So I’m Finally Starting a Blog …

Posted in Announcements by

… and, really, it’s about time.

Welcome to Penny’s Purls, my own little blog on my own little corner of WordPress. My name is Joanna (not Penny), and I work as an editor. I’m also a crafter, meaning I spend the majority of my free time up to my neck in yarn, fabric, paint, canvas, random garage sale finds that some day I’ll renovate … Sometimes I look at my studio and fear I’m becoming a hoarder, but that’s a topic for another post.

Starting a blog to chronicle some of those crafty experiences just seemed like a natural progression. Especially after reading the wonderful blogs of so many artists out there. And especially especially as I start trying to develop a craft business over at Etsy.

So, here goes. I hope to post at least once a week. (I have to write that down or I know I’ll never commit to it.) I think I’m (we’re?) going to have a lot of fun.